Blood of Tin by Crystal Part 1 Pain. All I could feel. It coursed through me. A searing agony that made me long and beg for death. But I knew I had been through this before. The more I screamed and begged and pleased, the longer it would last. But it hurt so much, it was almost impossible not to scream. The scream forced itself up my throat, spilling out of my lungs in piercing shrieks of pain and terror. Cold teaser were sliding down my cheeks as I struggled pointlessly at the ropes that bound me. I was going to die. Again. And there was no way around it. I wouldn't get out of this alive. The intensity of the suffering I was going through was enough to make me feel relief that it would be over soon. My eyes opened a crack, the fire still raged around me. A second scream was joining mine. My vision was focused for a moment, but only a moment. It was enough. The memory of the agony and pain in his eyes would be burned into my mind forever. I would never forget the look in his face. Did fire hurt more for vampires? I didn't know. But it sure as hell hurt enough for me. His golden eyes met mine. ~Next time,~ his voice said in my mind. ~Next time, we'll beat her. We'll win.~ A hollow, cold laugh sounded. I turned my head to see the other figure in the room looking at us. There was a scowl of hatred on the pretty face. A familiar face, and yet I wasn't sure why. She looked at me, her head shaking sadly. "This is all your fault," she said. "Things could have been different." She looked down at the burning torch she held in her hand. And shoved it into my chest. The world exploded into flame, and I died. * * * Part 2 I sat up, my mouth stretched open in a wide soundless scream. Fear still shrieked through me, sweat was pouring down my face, my hair was plastered to my forehead, and the over-size T-shirt I slept in was plastered to my back and I felt slick and icky all over. It took me a few moments to realise that I wasn't actually dead. I blinked several time, looking around my room. Taking several deep breaths I collapsed against the pillows, sighing heavily in relief. Thee was no torture chamber surrounding me. No one else burning to death, and no crazy girl with a burning torch. I was home. I was safe in my new apartment. Boxes still cluttered around, clothes were thrown all over the place. I hadn't gotten around to unpacking yet. I'd moved out of my parents place a week ago. I couldn't stand them treating me like I was eight, not eighteen. I was sick of it. So I moved out. All my assassination work for the Night World council had paid for the apartment. I smiled. Sometimes being bad helped. And I was one of the worst. Everyone knew not to mess with me. You don't piss off a vampire and live long to tell about it. My racing heart seemed to have calmed down now. I glanced over at my alarm clock, and groaned. Three in the fucking morning. Ugh. I'd never get up in the morning. It's not like I would be missing anything important. I don't really know why my friends and I bothered with school. Mainly I guess cause we loved to scare the human vermin. We're the tough crowd. The Night People. The bad guys. And we love it. I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Thoughts of the boy in my nightmare returned to me. I could see his gold eyes, the expression of agony on his face. His name had been Jericho Blackthorn. Blackthorns were a vampire clan. I was a Redfern, yet, in the dream, I hadn't been. I had been a witch - hence why my captor had decided to burn me at the stake. But what had he meant? We'll beat her, he had said. We'll win next time. Next time? I had been having dreams of myself dying horribly for the past week. I hadn't told anyone, since I knew all anyone would say was they were only dreams. Yet the boy, Jericho, about a year older than me, had been infecting my thoughts all week. He'd always been there, being tortured as I was, by the same woman. Something about the woman was disturbingly familiar. The face changed a little every time, but it was still the same woman. She wasn't Maya. I knew that. Everyone knew that Maya didn't like soulmate couples very much, she'd been after the leader of the Day Dorks, Thierry something or other practically forever, killing his soulmate over and over. Were Jericho and I soulmates? Ugh. I shuddered at the thoughts. I hoped not. I don't even like boys. In my opinion, men are a waste of time. Another reason I'd moved out of my parents. They'd had trouble accepting me for who I was. They didn't like my girlfriend Natasha very much. She's as dark and deadly as I am. I think my parents are afraid of us. Tash and I had been together for at least two years before we decided to tell my parents. Hers are dead. Long dead. Tash is over three hundred. She's a lamia. She's a Blackthorn too. I always wondered what made her come to high school. Unfortunately for me, I'm only eighteen. I haven't stopped aging yet. I'm thinking I'll stop at twenty one, after college, maybe twenty five. I don't know yet. Tash must have been in her twenties before she stopped aging. Everyone knows we're a hot item, but no one dares make comments or whisper. Cause they'll know we'll rip their guts out and feed them with it. A smile was spreading across my face. What a bad girl I am. Why should I worry about a bunch of dreams? Dreams don't have meanings. I don't believe in things like that. The witches who come up with outrageously ridiculous crap like that are idiots. I would only tolerate Midnight witches. They had the right idea. They were powerful. There were two in my crowd. As I drifted off to sleep, Jericho's eyes remained in my vision, and I sank into a sea of gold. * * * Part 3 The next morning I woke late, of course, I didn't really give a damn. I'd already missed first period. I took my time showering, getting dressed and ready. Shame vampires couldn't shapeshift. If I could shift, I would have been something with wings. Save me having to walk. I needed a car desperately. Why I hadn't bought one yet was beyond me. Something for me to do at the weekend. If I lived that long. I shuddered at the thought. I'd been having odd little thoughts like that ever since the dreams started. Something told me it had all happened before. In the dreams I was always sure of it, before we were tortured Jericho always said to me something about figuring a way to break the cycle. What cycle? I was distracted the whole morning. I don't think I heard a word anyone said to me. I followed the crowd to the cafeteria, wrinkling my nose in disgust at the swarm of vermin lining up for that indescribable mush they tried to pass off as food. I felt like throwing up. So many humans in one place always stirred the hunger for blood inside me. I'd only killed at school twice. I resisted my urge, we all did. We couldn't kill the vermin here, someone would start asking questions, then we'd all be in trouble with the Night World Council and be fucked. "Earth to Kailiane!" a voice was laughing. I blinked, realising someone was talking to me. "What?" I snapped. Someone else snorted. "What side of whose bed did you wake up on?" Several people shot sideways glances at Tasha as she joined us. "Don't look at me," she said, sitting next to me. "What's up, Kai? Who's pissed you off now?" "Whoever it is, we'll take care of 'em." An annoying male arm slipped around my shoulder and I shrugged it off. Normally, I'd have punched anyone who did that, but today, I just didn't have the energy. It seemed the dreams were sapping me of my strength. I looked around, realising everyone had an almost concerned look on their faces. God, was I slipping that much? "What's up Kailiane?" Jaylan Silverthorne asked. He sat down opposite me. Natasha was next to me, arm casually around my shoulder, shooting daggers at Onyx Redfern, the jerk who'd tried to hit on me. He knew about my opinions on guys, but he never gave up. I was surprised Jay was showing some concern. He was a Silverthorne, and Silverthornes are hot-headed and power-hungry. They can be worse than us Redferns sometimes. Still, they'll never take over the council. Jay didn't normally think about anything that wasn't related to Jay. "Gee I'm flattered you all care so much," I snorted sarcastically. "What's going on?" Circle Midnight witches Aurora Harman and Zia Starr joined us. Both were dressed almost identically in short black tops, short leather skirts, high black boots and lots of silver jewellery. Sometimes I wondered about those two. But Zia and Onyx were an item, so maybe not. The only difference about them in appearance was hair and eye colour. Aurora had her hair dyed a sort of dark pinkish-red, her eyes typical Harman violet, while Zia's was a bright cerulean blue, curling in ringlets to her waist. "Kailiane's weirding out on us," Tasha said. Zia snorted as she took her seat, placing down her lunch tray. "What's new?" I gave her one of my deadliest looks. "Very funny." Zia just smiled. A human would have run for miles if I'd looked at them like that. Some did. It could be quite amusing. "I'm not weirding out," I said finally. "I've just had.a lot on my mind recently. That's all." Tasha looked at me, her dark eyes searching my ever changing ones, right now probably blue or maybe green. Hell, I never knew what colour my eyes would be. ~What is it, Kai?~ she asked gently inside my head. ~Seriously.~ ~I'll tell you later,~ I said. Maybe I could talk to her. She might understand. "God, how can you eat that shit?" Jay said, snorting in disgust at Zia and Aurora's choice of lunch. "Ugh." "Unfortunately, we have to," Zia said. "We have to make sacrifices sometimes." "Be a vampire, it's so much easier," Onyx offered. I turned the rest of the discussion out. I could feel a faint hot tinge to my body, I could smell fire near by. A searing heat was starting to surround me. Sensations from the dream was flowing through my mind. I couldn't take up anymore. I needed out of here. Now. I stood up, hurrying out, ignoring the whispers and mutters. I found a small courtyard in amongst a few willow trees. There were two benches at either end and a small fountain in a pond. A few students were there, eating lunch, books open, studying. As soon as I showed up, they all packed their things and left without me needing to say a word. What'd you know? Humans could be smart after all. I sat down on one of the benches, letting the cool breeze caress my hot skin. It was all in my imagination. There was no fire around me. None at all. Okay, so maybe I was fooling myself. Who the hell was I kidding? The dreams scared me, dreams or not. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe some dreams really did have a meaning. If that were true, what were these dreams trying to tell me? That I was going to burn at the stake? Someone was going to come and torture me and murder me? I shuddered. There was so much I could so with my life. I was powerful. I was immortal. I didn't want to die. Immortal didn't necessarily mean invincible. There were always ways for vampires to die. I shuddered violently at the thoughts. I could feel hot tears brimming in my eyes. No. No. I never cried. I never cried and I wasn't going to now. Despite my protests I couldn't do a thing as I felt cold tears slipping down my cheeks. A couple of frightening dreams were causing me to fall apart? What the hell was happening to me? Tasha's comforting arm slipped around my shoulders, and I buried my face against her own shoulder and sobbed out all my fear and frustrations. The feel of her stroking my purple locks and muttering things like, "Don't cry," and "everything's going to be okay," and just "Shh", were surprisingly comforting. Finally, I calmed myself down, taking deep breaths. I pulled a tissue out my purse, using it to dab my eyes dry. My makeup was probably all streaked. Damn. After a few minutes I rested my head back on Tasha's shoulder. "Thanks," I sniffed, hugging her. We sat together like that in silence for a while. "Kailiane?" she said finally. "Sweetie, why don't you tell me what's really wrong?" I did. I told her everything. The nightmares. The fear. The memories of pain. I could still feel a wisp of the singing heat even as I spoke, smell the stench of burning wood, the reek of burning flesh.I told her about the boy, Jericho, what he said And the strange woman who had killed us both. "And I don't know why, but I have this feeling that it's going to happen again, soon," I finished. Tasha didn't say anything. She just sat there, her face blank. I watched her eyes, wondering if she knew something she wasn't telling me. I probed lightly at the edges of her mind, but I couldn't get in. She was keeping me out. I frowned. I normally didn't read her mind, I didn't see the need to. I knew she loved me, and that was all I needed to know. Personally, sometimes I don't like being able to see into other's minds. Sometimes it was disturbing, "Tash?" I said finally. She looked at me, long red nails running down my cheek. "They're just dreams, Kailiane," she said. "They don't mean anything. Just dreams." Her voice was oddly distant. Whatever was going on, she didn't want to tell me. A little flare of anger was sparking inside me. I'd just spilled my guts out to her, why wouldn't she talk to me? "I'm scared," I admitted. I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I wasn't sure why. It made me wonder if I was as tough as I thought I was. But then again, everyone was afraid of something. I'll bet even Tash was. Her arms tightened around me. "Nothing's gonna happen to you," she muttered. "I won't let it." "What scares you?" I asked. I don't know what made me ask that. I was just curious. "Losing you," she said softly. My head tilted. "You're not gonna lose me. I'll always be there." At least, I hoped I'd be. If these dreams didn't decide to come true. "I'm not gonna let you die Kailiane," she whispered, tightening her hold on me. "I love you too much to lose you." "I love you too," I said. I kissed her, feeling a pleasant tingling sensation running through my body. Tash's face was still rather blank. I couldn't understand what was the matter with her. What was going on? Why wouldn't she talk to me? Did she really love me as much as she said she did? Did she trust me? If she did, she should be able to talk to me. Sometimes she made me wonder. How well did you really know another person? Natasha didn't talk about her past much. Who had she been? Was that what she was scared to tell me about? Did Jericho mean something to her? I sighed heavily. This was getting nowhere very fast. * * * Part 4 Natasha hated lying to Kailiane. She hated the idea that Kailiane thought she didn't trust her. She did. It was just..she couldn't tell Kailiane. Not yet anyway. The cycle hadn't started this life time. Maybe it wouldn't have to. Jericho, her pesky little brother hadn't shown up yet. There was no way she could let Kailiane discover that Jericho was her soulmate. Thank God that in this life, Kailiane didn't like boys. Kailiane had had lots of lives. The girl was an Old Soul. The first time Tasha had see her, was her first life, back in Ancient Rome, a beautiful human slave by the name of Helena. As a vampire, Natasha was fully aware that loving humans was forbidden. Even back then, the law had been clear and strict. But she hadn't cared. She had wanted the pretty girl. Her own personal maid, her slave. Her secret love. She had only been a few years older. She had been planning to change the girl, and run away with her. She had had no idea how the society would react, if they found out about her secret longings and desires. Her friends would never understand. But unfortunately, Natasha wasn't the only one who had fallen in love with Helena. Her brother, two years younger than her twenty three, had also found the girl beautiful. He claimed they were soulmates. She had snapped they couldn't be. Loving humans was forbidden. Jericho had had no idea about her own desire for Helena. The ache of not having the other girl had tormented her, day and night, knowing that it was a love that could never be. Made worse by Jericho's bragging about his success with her. He had touched her, kissed her, made love to her. When he told about his pleasure with Helena, he'd had no idea the rage it caused Tasha. (Who, back then, had been Cassandra.) She changed her name every time Helena was reborn, so she wouldn't get suspicious. She had also found an easy spell, given to her by some witches. Something called glamour, to help with her appearance. There was no way Kailiane could know that it had been Natasha was the one torturing and murdering her in each life. Jericho's success with Helena had filled her with such rage and bitterness nothing mattered but making them suffer as much as they were making her suffer. So she captured them, torturing and killing them. If she couldn't have Helena, then no one else could either. But one hundred years later. She had seen Helena again. At first she had thought it must be her imagination. But no. Without a doubt, it had been the same girl. Her eyes had been the same, a deep indigo, her hair a river of molten gold, flowing down her back, so soft to touch. The twist had come, when she had seen Jericho too. Rage had filled her. Why was he there? Vampires don't reincarnate! But he had. And he was still a fucking vampire too. Impossible!" Also, annoyingly handsome and charming. And so it had become a straight battle between them, seeing who could get to Helena first. Unfortunately for Natasha, Jericho had always been the successful one, seducing the human girl easily. Which made Natasha angry, angry enough to kill them. The routine was tiring her now. She was sick of losing her only love. In her last life, a hundred years ago, Helena had been reborn as a witch. Still, Natasha had not been successful. In this life time, she had asked some Midnight witches to prepare a spell for her, to make sure Helena was born as a vampire. And the spell had been a success. Helena - or Kailiane now - had been a vampire. And a Redfern. She was bad too. Which made her all the more perfect. She was dark and deadly, and not to be crossed. And she didn't like boys. Natasha allowed a smirk to swim to the surface of her face. That part actually hadn't been anything to do with her spells. It was Kailiane's personal choice. She had tracked the girl down, and wormed her way into the girl's high school. She had made her way into Kailiane's crowd, and Kailiane had fallen into her arms. But there was still the problem of Jericho. He'd show up sooner or later. It was inevitable. This time, she was prepared for him. She had had another spell prepared, by Maya herself. It was a shame Maya had failed in her quest. But Natasha wasn't going to follow in her footsteps. Maya had assured her the spell would prevent Jericho from being born again. It would kill him, once and for all. The spell had been Maya's back up plan, just in case her idea hadn't worked. She'd planned on changing the human causing her problems and killing the bitch to prevent her coming back. And if she had been reborn again, then Maya had planned to use the spell. Only Maya had followed, and Natasha had taken it. It had better work. * * * Part 5 Jericho frowned. She was here. He knew she was. He could sense her mind, her presence. It was America this time, then. In such a large country, she should have been impossible to find. But thanks to some friendly Twilight witches, finding her hadn't been a problem. He arrived in the small Californian town of Night Falls. Even from the town limits he could sense the Night People there. Had they named the town? Apt for them if they had. He smiled a little. But she was there. Without a doubt, she was there. It had been over a century since he'd seen her last, and all that mattered to him now, was getting to her before Cassandra did, or whatever name she was using now. Helena, he knew, was now calling herself Kailiane. But this time, something strange had happened. Kailiane was a vampire. And a Redfern at that. How had that happened. Vampires generally didn't reincarnate. It was a mystery to him why he did. Circle Daybreak couldn't figure it out anymore than he could. But they were happy to have him on their side. And just maybe, maybe, this time, he could take Kailiane back with him. They would dispose of Cassandra once and for all. What puzzled him was why she was so obsessed with Kailiane. He'd had no idea how angry and jealous she was. So. He had a sister who liked other girls, rather than guys. Nothing to do with him. It was her choice. He doubted the Roman society would have been impressed with that, if Cassandra had successfully managed to win Helena. The Night World Council would have liked it even less. Just as well they didn't know. He could feel Helena's presence like a magnet, pulling him towards her. Would she remember him? He'd have to go and find out. * * * Part 6 A searing blaze of agony was thrusting through me. The scream spilled out of my lungs. I didn't even bother trying to hold it in. The knife twisting inside my heart hurt like nothing I'd experienced. The cold eyes of the woman who'd thrust the knife inside me met mine, a sad expression on her face. "Why is it always this way?" she said softly. "It doesn't have to be." Her expression turned to one of pure hatred, and she threw a look at Jericho, tied up beside me, small wooden stakes impaling him, making him a vampire pincushion. If looks could kill, he'd be dead by now. So would I, for that matter. But it didn't matter, I'd be dead in a second. As always, before I died, I could hear Jericho's voice in my mind. ~We'll beat her,~ he told me. ~One of these times. I'll look for you in the next life~. The woman laughed coldly, and shoved the knife deeper inside me. Darkness spilled over my vision, and her cold eyes were the last thing I saw. * * * I blinked, suddenly, and stopped screaming. Shit. Another nightmare. Sweat was pouring over my body. Ick. God, I was going to drown in sweat before long. Not a pleasant thought. Drowning would have to be my least favourite way to bite it. I stumbled out of bed. Kicking off the tangle of sheets and blankets wrapped round me. I headed out onto the small balcony and lit a cigarette to calm my nerves. It wasn't like they were going to kill me, I'm a vampire, after all. I looked across the dark night, stars twinkling, a full moon bathing the world in a soft white coat. The beauty of the night always had a strange effect on me. I was part of it, part of a dark underworld of shadows and power. I was powerful. I was strong. I was pretty. And yet.a few nightmares were causing me to fall apart completely. I just wanted it all to be over. I wanted my life back. I wanted everything the way it had been a week ago, when none of this was happening. I took a final drag on the cigarette and flipped it over the balcony. I was almost afraid to go back to sleep. * * * Part 7 I thought I could be prepared for anything. I had always assumed there was nothing that could shock me. How wrong was I? My head throbbed again when I woke up. A side effect of these damn nightmares. I always woke up with splitting headaches. It was as if the pain of being murdered and tortured was seeping out of my dreams and into my life, just to make everything more unbearable. As I walked down the halls to my first class (one of those rare days when I was actually one time for once) people moved out of my way. Obviously they were smart enough to guess by the scowl on my face I was not in a good mood. I headed into the classroom, and nearly had a heart-attack. He was there. Sitting in between Zia and Aurora. Onyx hung behind them, a scowl on his face that almost matched mine. Natasha hadn't arrived yet. Jay wasn't there. He never came to first period. He didn't believe in getting out of bed before eleven. Of course, it depended on the girl in his bed sometimes. "Hey Kai," Zia said cheerfully. Her arm was winding around the new boy's, she ignored the dirty looks Onyx was giving her. "This is Jericho. He's new." His eyes met mine, and I was aware of the look of absolute shock and horror on my face. His expression showed he clearly knew who I was. No. Not possible. He couldn't be real. He was a dream. Dreams don't come true! "What's the matter with you?" Aurora asked, her head tilted. "You look like you've seen a ghost." "I think I have," I whispered, routed to the spot. I couldn't seem to get my legs to work. Part of me longed to stay here, and demanded to know just what fuck was going on. The other part of me wanted to run for miles. Anything to get away from here and all of this. "You'll have to excuse Kailiane," Aurora said sweetly to Jericho. "She's been kind of out of it this week." He looked over at me, and I could feel him trying to get inside my mind. I pushed him out, putting up the strongest blocks I could. And still, I heard his voice. ~Helena?~ he was whispering. ~You remember me?~ I blinked. Huh? Why was he calling me Helena? I didn't bother waiting for an answer. I turned around and ran. * * * "What's her problem?" Jericho asked. He was confused. What was the matter with Helena? Why had she run like that? Did she not know who he was? She clearly recognised him, but why was she so afraid? He had never wanted to hurt her. Onyx shrugged. "Who the hell knows? Kailiane's been acting weird all week." His eyes followed the path Helena had left on. Should he go after her? Onyx saw him looking and snorted. "Don't get your hopes up, buddy, none of us have a shot with Kai." Jericho blinked. "Huh?" "What Onyx is trying to say is that Kailiane doesn't go for boys," Zia explained. "She hates 'em." Then he got it. "You mean Kailiane's." he trailed off. Zia nodded. "Um-hmm. She's got a girlfriend. Tash'll be in next period. Maybe she knows what's up with Kailiane." Onyx sighed. "Shame too. What a waste. Kailiane and Tash are both hot, too." It was Zia's turn to give dirty looks. Jericho sank back into his seat. Natasha? Could that be who he thought it was? Was that what Cassandra was calling herself now? His thoughts drifted back to Helena - or Kailiane as her name was now. The vampire signals coming from her were unmistakeable. The girl was a vampire? And a Redfern? Anger and fury were seeping inside him, but he controlled himself. He didn't want to arouse any kind of suspicision. He was already in enough trouble from the Night World without revealing himself to a school full of humans. It made him grateful for Circle Daybreak. But if these Night People knew he was Daybreak, they'd crush him. All he needed to do was play it cool. Get Helena away from here as fast as possible. And get rid of Cassandra while they were at it. There had to be a way to break the cycle once and for all. It was his hope that they could find it before fate took over and history repeated itself. * * * Part 8 Natasha blinked, seeing Kailiane racing past her. She started to go after her, but Kailiane had disappeared out the school doors before she knew what was happening. What was going on? What had made her run like that? A thought was beginning to form in her mind, and not a pleasant one. She made her way to her first class, unhappy, puzzled thoughts running through her mind all period. Human school was such a waste of time. But she had to make the sacrifice to get to Helena. Helena - Kailiane - was worth it. The bell rang and she drifted with the mob of students into the hall, wondering what to do now. She would win this time. She had to win. She'd come too far to fail. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going and someone walked into her. Their fault, not hers. She had to control herself so she didn't grow fangs and suddenly kill the asshole. She looked up to give her best glare, and found eyes of blazing gold meeting hers. "Jericho." "Cassandra." They stood there, glaring at each other in mutual hatred, neither of them speaking. He looked around, seeing that the halls were deserted now, in such a short space of time. "Seems you've done pretty well for yourself," he said, a scowl on his face. She smiled brilliantly. "I'm getting by," she aid casually. "You changed her." His voice was full of rage and hatred. "I don't know how you did it, but you did. She's." He trailed off, looking away and shaking his head, a pained expression crossing his face. "She's mine," Natasha said triumphantly. "I won. You lost." "You put spells on her," he snapped. "You must have. There's no other way she could have been reborn as a fucking vampire." "What are you gonna do? Sue me?" she said, smiling nastily. "You shouldn't play with people's emotions, love spells are unfair," he said, turning that blazing golden gaze on her. She was insulted. "I don't do love spells," she snorted. "Kailiane came to me willingly. All by herself. She was the one who seduced me. It was her choice. I'm her choice. Deal with it." "We'll see about that," he snarled, before turning and stalking off. Natasha just stood there, watching him go. She turned and went to class, realising there was nothing else she could do. * * * Part 9 The feeling of wanting to die was seeping over me. I was not asleep, I wasn't dreaming. This was all too much for me. Too much. I was sitting in the secluded little area with the fountains and willow tress, all alone. Why was this happening to me? Why me? Was this some sort of punishment? I wasn't innocent. Far from it. I killed, and I enjoyed it. I loved being bad. But maybe there was a price to pay after all. "Helena?" The voice was soft, and I looked up to see Jericho had found me. "Can I sit down?" I shrugged, and he sat. "And my name isn't Helena," I added. "It's Kailiane. Stop calling me Helena." He sighed. "I'm sorry. It's just Helena was the name you had when I first saw you, and it's what I always think of you as. It's hard to break the habit." I blinked. "What?" He smiled at me. "You're an Old Soul." I frowned at him. "Aren't Old Souls humans?" He sighed again. "Generally yes, but I'm an Old Soul too. We've had lots of lives together." He smiled at me. "We're soulmates." "I was afraid of that," I muttered. He reached out to touch me, his hand brushing mine lightly. Something happened. Sparks. A flash of bright silvery light, making me blink away after images. My vision turned vaguely pink. I jerked my hand away. No. No. I didn't want to feel this. I shook my head. "You don't understand." "Yeah, I know," he said sadly. "Your friends mentioned it, when they saw I had my eyes on you." His face darkened. "But that's something you need to know about too." I studied him. "You know something about Natasha that I don't." He snorted. "Plenty. She - " "Is going to kill you right now if you breathe another word," a cold voice hissed. I stood up, turning around, shocked, to see Tasha standing there at the entrance to the small area. Behind her were a bunch of black clad Night World assassins, all armed with strange cross-bow things loaded with wooden stakes. I frowned. "Tash? What's going on? What are you doing?" "Shut up," she snapped. I shut up. I looked over at Jericho, who had also moved to his feet. He didn't say anything, a look of pure hatred on his face. "I suggest if neither of you want to die right now that you come with us, ask no questions and do what I tell you," Tash said pleasantly. But her expression was cold. I looked over at her, wondering what was going on. But I was smart enough to know not to make her anymore mad. So with no choice I did what she said. * * * Part 10 Natasha took us both back to her large townhouse, marched us down to the basement and chained us both to the wall. The torture chamber built into her basement seemed a familiar set up, and so did the ice cold look on Natasha's hatred. She was the woman in my dreams. She was the one murdering me over and over. "Why?" I asked finally. "Why'd you do it? I trusted you." "If I can't have you, then no one else can either," Natasha snarled. I was surprised. "Tash, you think I'd want someone else?" Tasha shot a furious glance at Jericho. I snorted. "Him? Ick. Please. I don't like boys. You know that." Jericho stared at me. "Kailiane? We're soulmates? We belong together. You really want to spent eternity with someone who's been killing you? Killing both of us?" I didn't say anything. He had a point. But still.Jericho may be my soulmate, but what did that really mean? Soulmates were supposed to be destined for each other, supposed to stay together for eternity. But, did I really want to stay with Jericho? I didn't know him at all. I hadn't remembered anything else from my other lives. All I'd dreamed about was nightmares that he was the reason I kept dying. I looked at Tasha. "Tash? Why?" I said again. Tasha looked at me, her head tilted. "I did it, yeah. But I fell in love with you, and the idea of you with someone else just tore me apart. I couldn't deal and I snapped. Seeing you with him - " the word came out as a snarl " - just drove me insane. It made me mad. And you know that making me mad isn't such a hot idea." I looked from one of them to the other. Decision time. Great. I hated choices like this. "Who I go with," I said finally. "Should be up to me to choose. Not you two. I should be aloud to make my own decision." "Then make one," Natasha said, her eyes earnest. I thought about her, our past. She'd been there for me, she'd loved me, we'd had fun together. I remembered being with her. And I knew she loved me. I looked over at Jericho. And again, I thought about how I knew nothing about him. I didn't remember him ever loving me. He claimed he did, but was it really love? Or was it just the thrill of forbidden lust? Finally, I looked back at Tash. Who else was there for me? She understood me. She knew me. "Tasha, you'll always be the one for me." Natasha sighed heavily, relief obvious on her face. She quickly made her way towards me, and undid my chains. I just held her close for a long time, and let kiss me again and again. A tingling heat was running along my nerves, and this time, the sensation of heat and fire was a pleasant one. I didn't have to be afraid anymore. I pulled back, a little breathless. "What are you going to do about him?" I asked nodding over to Jericho, who looked stricken, as if I'd slapped him. Tasha smiled at me. She pulled a beaker of something from a cupboard. She walked over to Jericho, motioned to the guards, who came holding his head back, forcing his mouth open. Then she poured the stuff in the beaker down his throat, forcing him to swallow. "What's that?" he demanded, spluttering and choking. "Just a little potion Maya made for me before she croaked," Tasha said with that bright smile of hers. "Basically it stops Old Souls from being reborn. She was planning on using it herself if her plan failed. Unfortunately, she bought it." One thing puzzled me. "How'd you get Maya to help you?" I asked. "If I was human? "In your last life you were a witch, a Harman. Still, I managed to convince her to help." She smiled, and I just let it go. Whatever. Tasha then handed me a long piece of wood with a sharpened point at the end. A stake. She nodded at me, and I looked at Jericho. His eyes were pleading as I came closer. I don't know what made me do it. I just couldn't seem to kill him, don't ask me why. I looked from him to Tasha, I didn't want to disappoint her. So I drove the stake into Jericho, but just missing his heart. Maybe he'd be strong enough to survive. He shrieked in pain and agony, and within a few minutes, he skin was folding in on itself, turning yellow and leathery and shrivelling away, and a sac of bones collapsed on the floor. Well, he had glamour down pat. I was impressed, and Tasha was fooled. At least, it looked like she was. "Jerk," she muttered, kicking the bones. She took my hand and smiled at me. "Let's go celebrate." "Good enough for me," I said, and we left, leaving Jericho and all my past problems behind. * * * Epilogue Jericho groaned. He didn't understand why Helena hadn't just murdered him. But maybe she did have a soft spot for him after all. How had she known he knew how to do the glamour spell? She just did. Maybe it was something to do with the soulmate connection. He pulled himself to his feet, fully whole and back to normal again. The only difference about his appearance was the big red stain on his shirt. He took the stake and went up the stairs of the basement which the two girls had foolishly left unlocked. But of course, as far as they were concerned, he was dead. Were they about to get a surprise. He moved silently in the darkness, heading up the stairs making his way to their bedroom. He found it easily, opening the door and slipping inside. The two of them were sleeping, lying in each others arms. They looked so innocent asleep. Both of them deserved what they were about the get. He smiled as he drove the stake through each of them, watching their shocked expressions, hearing their shrieks of pain as their bodies slowly withered and turned to nothing but bones. He reached out to gently touch the mess that had once been the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. What a waste. "I'm sorry my love," he whispered. "But I can't stand to see you with anyone else anymore than Cassandra can. I have a way to break the cycle." And with those words, he plunged the stake into his own hear, and this time, died for real. The cycle was broken, once and for all. THE END.